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The ImportailSrof Local History. 






3^ D^S^BURRIi:^ 

Librarian Wisconsin State Historical Society. 



There are few branches of knowledjie 
whose importance has been so generally and 
justly extolled, as that of History. From 
the days of Cicero, who proclaimed it to be 
" the light ot truth, the life of memory and 
the preceptress of life," the world has been 
accustomed to hear its prais<^s and listen to 
the recital of its powers. History has been 
justly termed "philosophy teaching by ex 
ample," and in a broad sense " the whole 
past course of humanity from the first mo- 
ment of its existence to the present hour. 

The love of history seems inseparable from 
human nature. It is natural for man to pre- 
serve as far as is in his power the memory of 
those of his own time and of those that pre- 
ceded it. Rrde heaps of stone and earth 
have been raised and ruder hymns or rhymes 
have been composed by nations who had not 
yet the use of arts and letters. An applica- 
tion of the study of history that dots not 
tend to make us better men and better citi- 
zens is at least but an ingenious sort of idle- 
ness; and the knowledge thus acquired is at 
best a creditable kind of ignorance. The 
study of history, however, of all otiiers is 
the most proper to train us up to private 
and public virtue. 

Important, however, and Instructive as is 
the narrative of past events and the influ- 
ence they have exerted on the worM in civil- 
ization and refinement, history is seldom so 
interesting as when descending from the lof- 
tier and more splendid regions of general 
narration, it dwells for a while in an humbler 
place, and delights in the details of events 
of every-day life, and of the history of the 
people. 

"The struggles of empires and the convul- 
sions of nations," says a writer, " while they 
have much of sublimity have also much of 



uncertainty and indistinctness. They are 
too lurge for the grasp of ordinary minds, or 
too indefinite to act. on common sensibilities ; 
while the interests awakened by the details 
of local history are such as from the facility 
of comprehension and the identity of the 
objects presented, must necessarily come 
home at once to the feelings of every reader. 
They place us by the firesides, or walk with 
us among the graves of our fathers, attach- 
ing a living story to the thousanvl inanimate 
objects with which they are surrounded." 

Under all forms of government, in this 
country, whether colonial, provincial or re- 
publican, many important measures have 
been submitted to the primary assemblies of 
the people to be examined and acted on by 
them. Thus we find in the revolutionary 
war, in particular, towns and parishes not 
only expressed their opinion on many sub- 
jects connected with that event, but they 
actually exercised much of the jurisdiction 
of a national government in prosecuting that 
war. How these small corporations organ- 
ized solely for municipal or parochial pur- 
poses, transacted that business in that war, 
as well as the more subsequent ones, in pro- 
curing solaiers, storey and the means for 
carrying them forward is well known. 

" The great object of local history ,"says Mr. 
Shattuck, " is to turnish the first elements of 
general history, to record facts rather than 
deductions from facts. In these small settle- 
ments dotted over this country (as well as 
others) are to be found many of the first 
moving causes which operate upon and rev- 
olutionize public opinion. Many facts, mi- 
nute in themselves, and regarded, by many 
as trivial and unimportant, are really of 
great service. The details, which it is the 
appropriate province of the local historian 



t.TsT. 



to spread bi tore the public, are not so much 
history itself as materials for history. It is 
the work of the general historian, who has 
before him all the particulars of the great 
natural and political landscape, to exhibit 
the connection of the several parts and to 
show how they depend one upon another io 
bringing about the great chanL^es which 
have been taking place and afftcting the 
condition of society." 

No people in the world can have so ereat 
an interest in the history of their country as 
that of the United States ; for tbere are none 
who enjoy an equally great sbare in their 
country's historical acts. The histories ot 
Bancroft, Hildreth and others have a world- 
wide reputation. The histories of the War 
of the Revolution, the War of 1812, the 
Mexican War and the War of the Rettellion 
have found able and impartial writers, and 
there is perhaps no nation in the world 
whose history has been more fully written 
and with which the pef^ple are more familiar. 
The histories of the individual States of the 
Union have been written by competent par- 
ties, detailing their rise and progress from 
early times to the preseut, and in a spirit of 
enlightened liberality many of the States 
have made generous appropriations for pub- 
lishing their colonial records. The States of 
New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 
Connecticut and Rhode Island have done 
nobly in rescuing from oblivion their early 
documentary history, and furnishing an ex- 
ample for imitation by other States. 

John Quincy Adams once made a remark 
■which contains a world of truth : " That pos- 
terity delights in details." And it is highly 
creditable to the intelligence of the Au\eri- 
can people, that so much of the early history 
of the towns and villages of the country has 
been written, and nothing comes closer to 
the sensibilities of the people than the details 
of events thai occured when their fathers or 
ancestors were on the field of action and 
took their part in building up their several 
locations. This attachment to our homes is 
a wise provision of Divine economy. It is em- 
inently proper that every person should en- 
tertain a particular attachment to the place 
where he was bo.'n, and where he has made 
his home. Change of location does not al- 
ways wean the affection away from the old 
fireside. By the aid of memory, we are 



privileged to call back the early bygone 
scenes, and apprecia'e the lessons we receiv- 
ed that had so important a bearing on our 
subsequent life. 

To trace the history of our ancestors, and 
transmit a record of their deeds to posterity, 
is a duty we owe to the past and to the fu- 
ture. Such a record must be preserved as 
invaluable by the immediate descendants and 
kindred of those who once lived and acted 
where they now do, aLd whose ashes repose 
in th( ir soil, and it cannot be without interest 
to those who have gone out from their kin- 
d'-cd to dwell in other parts of the country, 
nor to those who have come to dwell in the 
habitatiims made vacant by tlie removal or 
death of the original occupants. What the 
present place of our residence once was, 
who originally occupied it and by what 
means and by whom it has become what it 
now is — are questions which can be answered 
only by minute topographical history. 

No part of the United States has 
received more attention from writers than 
the New England States. The last twenty 
live years have produced the local history of 
more towns and ci'ies in that section than 
any part of the countrj'. The people of New 
England have a history gohig back over two 
hundred years, and the inhabitants justly 
take pride in what their own towns have done 
in reclaiming the country from barbarism and 
what they have since performed for the pub- 
lic good. 

Other States of the Union have realized 
in a more or less degree the vtlue of these 
local histories. 

The State ot New York, though for a long 
period indifferent to the subject, has of laie 
years found devoted antiquarians who have 
brought to light much iijforraation that had 
been for a long period buried in oblivion. 

To Joel Munsell, the veteran printer of 
Albany, that city is greatly indebted for the 
reproduction and translation of her early 
annals and subsequent history, and to give 
some ide:i of what has been published and is 
accessable to the inquirer, some statistics of 
the local history that can be found in the li- 
brary of the State Historical Society are here 
given. Of the State of Massachusetts there 
are 125 bound and about 300 unbound books 
and pamphlets of her local history, consist- 
ing of town and county histories, centennial 



and anniversary discourses ; of the State of 
New York about 200 ; Connecticut 125; 
Pennsylvania 70 ; Ohio 75 ; Maine, New 
Hampshire and Vermont about 60 each, and 
lesser numbers of the other States. The 
whole number of volumes and pamphlets 
nnmbering over 1,000. 

It is interesting to note the fact that many 
town authorities have liberally encouraged 
this kind of literary labor. Prof. J. D. But- 
ler informs the writer that the selecimen of 
the town of Bradford, Vt., in accordance 
with the vote of the inhabitants, contracted 
with Rev. Dr. Silas McKeeu to write the 
history of the town, and to pay him $500 to 
publish it. We find also that the town of 
Piltsfield, Mass., in 1866, appctinted a com- 
mittee to compile, write and supervise the 
publication of its history; and Hon. Chas. 
Hudson has prepared two large octavo vol- 
umes of the histories of the towns of Lexing- 
ton and Marlborough, Mass., the manuscripts 
of which were purchased by the authorities 
and the work published at their expense. 

Centennial celebrations of the orgf^niza- 
tion of towns in New England have been 
held in many towns, and funds raised by 
subscription to secure the publication of 
their local history ; and our worthy friend 
Cyrus Woodman, of Cambridge, Mass., for- 
merly of this State, appreciating the value of 
the published records of his native town, 
Buxton in the State of Maine, has published 
a volume of its history at his own expense 
for private distribution, and other instances 
of this kind might be mentioned. 

Turning our attention to our own section 
of the country we find that Wisconsin and 
Minnesota have made an excellent beginning 
in this department of history, and made more 
progress, perhaps, in proportion to their age 
and population than many ot the older west- 
ern Stated. Michigan has done less than 
Wisconsin, a matter of surprise when it. is 
Considered what might have been accom- 
plished in that flourishing State if proper at- 
tention had been directed toward it. In our 
State there have been published in proper 
form for preservation, histories of the coun- 
ties of Brown, Crawford, Dane, Door, Rock, 
Fond du Lac, Green, Green Lake, Oconto, 
Pierce, Racine, St. Croix, Sauk, Walworth 
and Winnebago— these are in pamphlet form 
and a portion ot them designed for immigra- 



tion purposes, but contain much that is valu- 
able. There are also histories of the towns 
of Ashland, Baraboo, Beloit, Elkhorn, Green 
Bay, Hudson, Janesvilie, Kenosha, Madison, 
Milwaukee, Mineral Point, Nashota, Osh- 
kosh, Prairie du Chien, Plymouth, Prescott, 
Racine, Stevens Point, Watertown, White- 
water, and perhaps some others in pamphlet 
form, and some prepared for the collections 
of the State Historical S'>cietv. 

There are also a few towns whose local 
history has been published in a series of arti- 
cles in the newspaper press. These articles 
have been collated, neatly mounted and 
bound in volumes. Ot this class may be 
mentioned the " History of Plymouth, She- 
boygan Co.," by Mrs. H. N. Smith ; the " His- 
tory of Geneva, Walworth Co,," by J. Sim- 
raonds ;" "Early Reminiscences of White- 
water," and a valuable series of papers on the 
" History of the Chippewa Valley," by T. E. 
Randall. Ot the larger class of works 
may be named " History of Milwaukee," by 
Dr. R. A. Koss, in the German lautjuage, 472 
po. 8o ; the " Chronicles of Milwaukee," by 
A. C. Wlieeler, 303 pp. 12o ; Guernsey and 
Willurd's History of Rock Co, 192 pp. So, 
and the recent " History of Madison and the 
Four Lake Country," by D. S. Durrie, 420 
pp. '^o. 

It will be seen from what has been written 
that while the State of Wisconsiu has made 
some progress in preserving its history, 
there is still very much to be accomplished. 
The materials for the preparation of works 
of this kind are now available, but may not 
be many years hence. Every village, or city 
in this Stale has a distinct history of its 
own. Parties are now living who came here 
as pioneer'i, — the history of their experiences 
and hardships should be preserved, as well 
as the progress and growth of their several 
localities. These men are passing away, 
some to other homos, and others soon will 
have finished their earthly labors and gone 
to the world unseen. 

This work, hovvever,must be done from un- 
selfish motives. It is useless to disguise the 
fact that the labor of collecting the materials 
and preparing the same for publication, brief 
and imperfect as they may be, is one of mag- 
nitude. No one until he has tried the experi- 
ment can fully appreciate the labor and pa- 
tience which are requisite in connecting 



isolated facta, and the perplexity which is 
caused in reconciling apparent, contradic- 
tions and removing doubts. Such kind of 
labor is never remunerative, but the con- 
sciousness of having redeemed from unde- 
served neglect the history of our homes and 
of our forefathers, and rescuing from oblivion 
many facts which would otherwise have been 
lost, will be a source of gratification if no 
other reward is received. 

We wish we could suitably impress the im- 
portance of this subject on the attention of 
the people of this State and in fact on all 
others. In almost every locality there are 
persons interested in history; let such per- 
sons cultivate their gifis by collecting mate 
rials of the early settlement of their places of 
residence and subsequent progress, and pre- 
pare the same for publication. Should there 
not be sufficient encouragement to publish 
sucb a history in a volume, the editor of j 



your county paper will gladly publish it in 
his paper, even if continued for a long series 
of numbers. 

The Historical Society is desirous ol col- 
lecting every thing that has a bearing on the 
history of the State, general or local, and 
fully appreciates the labors of those who 
feel disposed to " gather up the fragments ' 
and tiie library of that Society is rich in such 
collections. If in your power to add to its 
usefulness (and the benefit for the Society is 
for the benefit of the whole people) the Soci- 
et}- will be thankful for your co-operation. 

Of late years it has been the custom in 
some places to have annual gatherings of the 
old settlers to recount their experiences. It 
would be well if the custom could become 
universal and a printed account of the same 
preserved. How valuable such papers would 
become in after time, no one can fully appre 
ciate. 



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